Water-agitator fob ice plants



V I. B. WILLIAMS.

WATER AGITATOR FOR ICE PLANTS,

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13, 1915.

1 ,1 94 1 08. Patented Aug. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W I T SSES: I

J. B. WlLLiAMS.

WATER AGITATOR FOR ICE PLANTS.

APPLICATION FILED 120.13, 1915.

Patented A110". 8,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A KNEW/1E3 j ATTORNEY.

' teragitators for use in ice factories.

' In ice plants, ice cans immersed in the impurities.

JEWEL BANGS WILLIAMS, GE CINCINNATI OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE TRIUMPHELECTRIC COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A COREOBATION OF OHIO.

WATER-AGITAElOB. FOR ICE rtnlvrs.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Jnwnn 'BANGS TWIL- LrAMs,a citizen of the United States, rc-

siding at ,Cinoinnati in, the county of Ham-' ilton and State of Ohio,llLVmiIlVl1llGCl new and useful improvements in Water-Agitators for IcePlants, of which-the following is. a specification. v v v My invention.Ielates to apparatus for manufacturing ice andparticularlyjto Wacoldln'ine are -usually arranged in rows; both lengthwise and crosswise,with a space between. 111 this space, 1 n raw water plants,

midway between the rows of cans, is amain for distributing air, with anoutlet opposite the center of each pair of cans. A yoke made er pipe isused to convey-air from each of the. main outlets to the interior of thecan on either side. lVhilethe water in the, cans is being frozen, theyoke is in placeastride the air main at the outlet, and air at lowpressure 155 thus introduced into the Water in each pair of cans. Thiskeeps the Water agitated while it is being frozen,

"which is important particularly-in raw water plants, as the freezingWater is freed of The Water near the censurfaccs freezes first," and theimpurities are therefore gradually .forced toward and col lectcd nearthe middle of the can,jand removed when ice-making has proceeded to theproper point. From this will be seen that it is important to have thedrop pipes of the yoke placed and kept as near the center of the cans aspossible, as there the water naturally freezes last. "When the smallremaining quantity fo'fwater With-its accumulated impurities in? thecenter of the ice cake in the can is to be drawn oil, the yoke isremoved. Sometimes, the outlets on the.air main are not closed, butthe'air allowed to waste freely. Sometimes, they Specification ofApplication filed December 13, 1915. Serial No. 66,5e

Letters Patent. 1 5

poses isso designed as to be very cheaply made and can be readilyhandled by the common labor used in such plants. There 'are no looseplugs or caps to lose, and nothing that would get out of order withordinary use. 1cc cans maybe arranged in any conven lent manner, so thata definite arrangement is adhered to, and the yoke or manifold and itsconnections made to fit that arrange ment. y

In the particular embodiment of my'invention selected for illustration:Figure 1 isa top plan view ofa numherof ice freezing canswith parts ofair mains and agitating'yolres inposition' for'use. Fig. 2 is anelevation of one of the yolres in position, and indicated as inoperation, with'the air -main and ice cans in section. Fig. 3, a detail,is a vertical longitudinal axial section through the yoke T, and aVertical axial cross section of the air main outlet and valve. Fig. 4, adetail, is a vertical axial cross. section of the yoke T, and a verticalaxial longitudinal section of the air main, itsoutlet and valve. Fig. 5,a detail, is an under plan view of the yoke at its T.

. In the drawings, A represents the air (a main, midway between rows ofice cans,

with outlets, a,-opposite each pair of cans,

The outlet member, a, forms a casit seats against the end of theoutletniemher, provided with any convenient openings, a, to facilitate thepassage of air to the manifold 01' yoke, B, (hereinafter scribed), whenthe valve is open, and having a lug, a, to suitably limit its downwardmovement. The valve is held open by gravity, but air pressure (normallyabout 3 pounds to the square inch) in the air main, pressing upwardlyagainst the under end, a of the valve, raises it and causes it to seatwhen its upward movement is not interfered with, The outlet member hasavertical slot, a, cut in either side to admit a pm as Wlll hereinafterhe described. This slot 18 lengthwise of the air main, A.

B represents a yoke composed of drop pipes, Z), 5*," Us I2 6; extensionpipes, 12*, /f; and manifold or T, Z). The extension pipes a, Z are ofsuch length as when the extension pipes are at right angles to the, air

main, A, to bring the drop pipe, 5, in the center of can U, and the droppipe, I), in the center of can l3. ll. pin, h, fixedTilrthe opening ofthe manifold, 7.), transversely, is adapted to seat in the slot, o, oftheFoutlet, a, so as tofit the yoke anol'hold it at right angles to theair main, A.

Whenthe yolre is in position for use, the

pin, Z), prevents the valve, 1 from seating, hence air flows freely fromthe main through the yoke to each of the cans opposite the out letmember of that particular yoke. Immediately upon the removal olthe yoke,the valve closes, as its upward movement is no longer checked. The yokewill not seat so as to be operative unless in position for the pin,1)",- to enter the slot, (1., and when in that position, the drop pipeson the yoke are in the center of theirrespective cans.

I do not Wish to liant myselt' to the precise form of mechanism hereindescribed and shown, but understand myinvcutiou covers anynioijliiications thereof that will provide an air main with a valve anda yoke to deliver air therefrom to the center of adjacent cans, thevalve automatically closing when the yoke is not in position fordelivery ofair to the cans.

Obviously, instead of two cans only being inline with and supplied withair 'Froo: one valve on the main, a greater number of ice cans could beplaced in line;t:md the illifi. extended on one or both sides, or in anyother COIHEIllEDt war, as durcails were an ranged, to supply air to allthe cans in that row or group, or as many as were desired.

Any arrangement of cans and mechanism for supplying compressed airthereto, may he used; the gist of my invention being the unified meansof controlling the air valve and centering the drop pipes in the icecans.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure" by Letters Patent Of theUnited Htates:-

v 1. in water agitators for ice plants, where ice cans are used in anyfixed position for ice making, the combination of a pipe for supplyingair under pressure, an outlet member in said air supply pipe, a valveadapted to close said outlet by air pressure from within said pipe, amanifold and connections for conveying air from said outlet to thecenters of a plurality of ice cans, and unitary means lor slmultaneouslyopening said valve, and for centering said manifold; said unitary meansbeing adapted to keep said valve open. so long as the manifold re mainsin said position and. to hold the said manifold and its conncctionsinsaid posi tions against accidental displaccnuint.

2. in water agitators for ice plants, wlurrc ice cans'i'ire used in anyfired position for ice making, the combination of a pipe for supplyingair under pressure, an outlet member in said air supply pipe, a valveadapted to close said outlet by air pressiu-e from Within said pipe, :1guide on said outlet member for centering a manifold, a manifold andconnections i'or conveying air from said outlet to the centers of aplurality oi ice cans, and means for uniting the manifold with the guideon the outlet nilenlber to center the manifold, and the manifold soformed as to open the valve and hold it open only when and'so long asthe manifold is ocnteredon said outlet member.

3. in water agitators for ice plants, the combination of a pipe forsupplying air an der pressure between rows of cans in pairs, an. airoutlet opposite the center of the cans of each pair, a "valve adapted toclose said outlet by air pressure from within, a niani fold andconnections for conveying the comprcsesd aufrom the supply pipe to saidcane .Qmd ,nrcuus for eil-nultainumoly holding said valve open and themaulfold drop pipes in the center of said cans.

l. A water agitating device for artificial. ice plants, having incombination an air main, an air outlet from said main, a valve withinsaid outlet adapted to close by being raised by air pressure withinthemain, rertical slots in the top of said air outlet, a yoke of such sizeand shape as to form conduits from the air outlet to an ice can oneither side of the main opposite the air outlet. and means on the yokefor operatively connecting the air outlet through the yoke with the cansonly when the yolre is so placed astride the main as to place the droppipes of the yoke in the center of the contiguous ice cans.

5. character indicated, a main distril'iutiug air-- conduit-having aservice outlet; a self-scating valve controlling said outlet; aremovable scrvire manifold adapted to be con neeted with raid outlet;and unitary means for securing said connection and maintaining theproper service relation of the manifold to the distributing main, and atthe same time maintain the outlet-com:rolling valve in open position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witmesses.

JElV EL BANUS WILLlAlll Witnesses A. L. 'lhLoasLnr, S. C. Roerramuaa.

In water" agitating, a iparatus oi the

